[title]
Holiday window displays are a staple of the season in New York. But you're busy buying presents, seeing the sights, sampling our many exquisite hot chocolates. What's to be done? Luckily we've got you covered: we've scoped out all the major players and we're gonna tell you which holiday window display you simply can't miss. With brackets! Buckle up, it's about to get festive.
Two displays enter, one display leaves. Who's it gonna be?
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf's offering is almost overwhelming. The strange, colorful windows are all over the place conceptually; some don't even seem to be related to the holidays. That said, several of them play with a fun perspective trick, making it seem like you're staring down into a room from above by looking into the window. Pretty trippy!
Time Out/Ali Garber
Time Out/Ali Garber
Time Out/Ali Garber
Time Out/Ali Garber
Holiday Cheer
B-. Red and white stripes and a lone nutcracker do not a flawless holiday window display make, I'm afraid. Those elements seem kind of perfunctory, tbh.
Spectacle
A. There's a lot going on here! While we deducted some points for not being terribly holiday-focused, I give a lot of credit for the variety of imagery and ideas that have been employed. The disorienting perspective of the top-down window view is genius.
Concept
B+. This is tricky because I don't really know what the concept is here, but also I love what they did? According to their website, each window is a variation on the theme of "GoodTimes." You know what? Fine. I'll take it.
Execution
A. Again, this just comes down to polish, and while the "GoodTimes" idea may be a bit nebulous, the individual windows are extremely detailed and easy on the eye. We love a bit of color! Or a lot of it!
Overall: A-
Louis Vuitton
Speaking of "a lot of color," Louis Vuitton has decided to go big or stay home. Or maybe both. Bright colors mark their window spread this year, and while it doesn't have much at all to do with the season, you can't deny the wow factor: a rainbow explosion of color is the centerpiece here, spraying all the way up two whole sides (!) of the building.
Time Out/Ali Garber
Time Out/Ali Garber
Time Out/Ali Garber
Holiday Cheer
C. It's bright, but is it recognizably related to a holiday? Not as far as I can tell.
Spectacle
A. I mean. What do you want me to say? They blasted two sides of a building with extremely festive paint. If that's not spectacular, I don't know what is.
Concept
C. The concept is... the Louis Vuitton logo and colors?
Execution
B. The grand gesture only gets you so far in my book.
Overall: B
Winner: Bergdorf Goodman
It won't surprise you to learn that I studied theater in undegrad, and there's just something deliciously dramatic about the Bergdorf windows that speaks to me. Louis Vuitton went for a big, bold gesture but Bergdorf drilled down and got detail-oriented, and that's why they came out on top.
